FLORHAM PARK, NJ — The deal is not yet done.
All-Pro defensive tackle Quinnen Williams was not at the New York Jets facility for offseason practice Tuesday in the final week before the veterans disperse for the summer.
And yet the Jets are not showing up publicly as Williams’ Twitter page continues to read “Defensive Tackle for ……………….”
Head coach Robert Saleh has not expressed his belief in the oft-heard qualifications he hope Or wishes this agreement will be concluded. He said it will.
“I speak for everyone and I probably speak for Quinnen as we all want this done as soon as possible,” Saleh said. “Once again, I will let the businessmen handle all of this. But it will happen. It will be there for camp, ready to roll.
“And once he is, I’m sure he’ll be the same guy he was a year ago.”
Who was Williams a year ago?
The 2019 No. 3 overall pick earned All-Pro honors by collecting 12 sacks, 28 quarterback hits and 55 total tackles. Williams also deflected four passes, forced two fumbles and recovered one.
Traditional stats typically fail to capture the impact of an inside defensive lineman, but consider Williams’ 12 sacks came in just 690 snaps compared to fellow 2019 first-round defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, who won Pro Bowl honors for his 7.5 sacks in 864 snaps.
Williams ranked fourth in Pro Football Focus’ interior defenseman rankings behind Chris Jones of the Kansas City Chiefs, Lawrence and Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams. He ranked seventh among defensive tackles in ESPN’s pass-rush win rate measure, recording a 15% success rate.
His teammates marvel at his impact, with offensive guard Laken Tomlinson calling Williams “a force to be reckoned with” and a “generational talent” that “keeps me young”. Five-time Pro Bowler CJ Mosley marveled at Williams’ versatility between the running and passing game.
“Just his ability to get into the backfield,” Mosley said. “As a linebacker, when you have defensive linemen like him who can get up the field, get vertical and also in the running game, demand double teams or go and blow a (transfer) on a zone reading, it makes my job much easier.
“When it comes to coverage watching the quarterback or the running game, I’m free to run the road, so only his presence on the field is key.”
Why didn’t the Jets already extend Williams?
The structure of a deal with Williams, according to league sources, should be straightforward.
“Honestly, this should be the easiest deal to make this cycle,” a chief executive told Yahoo Sports on condition of anonymity. “The market has surged. It’s a very clearly defined market. And honestly, dealing with (William’s agent) Nicole Lynn is the best. And I mean in terms of, not that she’s a pushover, but as a GM, there’s a handful of agents who are like, ‘OK – we can get to where it should be. be. These are the agreements we should be talking about. Let’s understand that it’s important to you, it’s important to me, and you don’t have to do fluff or anything like that.
“It’s very refreshing.”
The general manager said Williams’ contract is expected to be a four-year contract worth an average of around $24.5-25 million a year. Recent extensions have produced this estimate.
On May 4, the Giants gave Lawrence a four-year extension worth $90 million, with $60 million guaranteed. That $22.5 million average came just short of the Tennessee Titans’ extension of another 2019 first-rounder to Jeffery Simmons, who raised $23.5 million a year on a four-year contract. years that included $66 million in guarantees after consecutive Pro Bowl seasons.
Most recently, the Buffalo Bills extended 2019 first-round defensive tackle Ed Oliver on Monday. Oliver was earning less than his counterparts who were more productive, his four-year contract worth $19 million a year, with $45 million guaranteed.
That would be four deals plus fifth-year options, with each extension spanning four new years.
The general manager who spoke to Yahoo Sports said if the Jets wanted five-year control, they would have to be willing to pay more than $27 million a year.
Williams skipped OTA practices during the dispute, which are technically voluntary per the NFL-NFLPA labor agreement. Saleh canceled the team’s mandatory minicamp scheduled for next week, citing the date of the training camp report preceding the Jets’ appearance in the Pro Football Hall of Fame game this preseason.
In just over six weeks, the Jets will meet again for training camp. Saleh is confident Williams will be there and the contract dispute will be resolved.
Did Williams miss something by skipping spring training?
“If you ask a coach, of course he is,” Saleh said. “But I think he’ll be fine.”